The Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendments No. 4) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations amend the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 (“the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations”), the Income Support (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987 (“the Income Support Regulations”), the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987, the Family Credit (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987, the Disability Working Allowance (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992 and the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987 (“the Claims and Payments Regulations”).

They also revoke the Jobseeker’s Allowance (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998 which increased the number of waiting days before which a person may be entitled to a jobseeker’s allowance from 3 to 7 (regulation 2).

In particular, these Regulations prescribe that part of the Employment Option of the New Deal (as prescribed in regulation 8 of the Social Security (Amendment) (New Deal) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997 shall consist of assistance in pursuing self-employed earner’s employment (“the self-employment route”) (regulation 4(2)). By so doing, the regulations provide that the self-employment route is an employment programme for the purposes of Article 21 of the Jobseekers (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 and that if a person, without good cause, refuses or fails to participate in the self-employment route, or loses his place on the self-employment route due to misconduct, he will receive a sanction under Article 21 of that Act.

The Regulations also make various amendments to the rules on the treatment of income and capital in the benefits referred to above which are consequential on the introduction of the self-employment route—

(a) they provide that income paid to a participant in respect of the period when he is receiving assistance under the self-employment route and which derives directly from the receipt of such assistance shall, for the purposes of jobseeker’s allowance and income support, be subject to special rules as to its calculation and the date it is taken into account and treated as paid (regulations 3(2) and (3) and 4(3) and (4)) and that such income, for the purposes of disability working allowance, family credit and housing benefit, shall be treated as capital (regulation 5(1) and (2));

(b) they provide that mandatory payments made to participants in the self-employment route shall be disregarded both as income (regulations 4(5)(a) and 5(3) and (4)) and as capital (regulations 4(6)(b) and 5(9) and (10));

(c) they provide that payments in respect of expenses incurred in receiving assistance under the self-employment route and amounts used or intended to be used to maintain repayments on loans taken out to help establish or carry on the activity to be assisted under the self-employment route shall be disregarded as income (regulations 3(4), 4(5)(b) and 5(5) and (6));

(d) they provide that business assets of persons receiving assistance under the self-employment route shall, in certain circumstances, be disregarded as capital (regulations 4(6)(a) and 5(7) and (8));

(e) they provide that capital intended for purchasing business assets for use whilst receiving assistance under the self-employment route shall be disregarded (regulations 4(6)(c) and 5(11) and (12)).

Regulation 3(5) amends a reference to the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations contained in Schedule 3 to the Income Support Regulations.

Regulation 6 makes a consequential amendment to the Claims and Payments Regulations relating to the date on which relevant changes of circumstances are to have effect for the purposes of persons entitled to a jobseeker’s allowance or to income support.

In so far as these Regulations are required, for the purposes of regulation 5(1), (2)(a), (3), (4)(b), (5), (6)(a), (7), (8)(b), (9), (10)(b), (11) and (12)(b) to be referred to the Social Security Advisory Committee under section 149(2) of the Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 (c. 8), (“the 1992 Act”), after agreement by the Social Security Advisory Committee, they have not been so referred by virtue of section 150(1)(b) of that Act. Otherwise the Regulations make provision corresponding to provision contained in Regulations made by the Secretary of State for Social Security in relation to Great Britain and accordingly, by virtue of section 149(3) of, and paragraph 10 of Schedule 5 to, the 1992 Act, are not subject to the requirement of section 149(2) of that Act for prior reference to the Social Security Advisory Committee.